An eternal flame licks the air over a monument to local soldiers. A bronze sculpture honors Margie Neal, the first woman elected to the Texas Senate. A marble statue rises above the roadside grave of country singer “Gentleman Jim” Reeves.

But there likely won’t be a monument to the man who seems forever linked to this East Texas town of 6,779 residents: Bernhardt Tiede II.

Bernie is back, but without the luster he once had.

The former mortician — whose life and crimes are portrayed in the 2011 dark comedy “Bernie,” starring Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey — is in court again this week, nearly 20 years after he was convicted of murder in the death of wealthy Carthage widow Marjorie Nugent. A new jury will hear new evidence in the case and decide whether he should be sent to prison for life.

He won’t find much sympathy these days in Carthage.

“Find something as bizarrely heinous,” said Carlton Shamburger, director of the historic Hawthorn Funeral Home, where Tiede once worked. “It is such an unbelievable story, you can’t make it up. … The locals just want the hoopla to go away.”

Tiede was once the most popular man in town, a lay minister and assistant funeral director who sang at services.

He befriended Nugent in 1990 after helping with the funeral of her wealthy husband. They became fast friends, and Tiede eventually left the funeral home to become her full-time companion and assistant.

They were an unusual pair.

Tiede, half her age, was known for kindness. Nugent was considered mean. While he was wildly popular, she had few friends and was estranged from her family.

And when Nugent abruptly disappeared, reportedly to seek treatment for health problems, Tiede spread the wealth. He donated Nugent’s money to churches and overhauled the theater department at Panola College. He upgraded the runway and hangars at the county airport and supported youth baseball by sponsoring teams.

“He was a giver in Panola County,” recalled office manager Mistery Patterson. “He has some strong supporters that he has had since day one.”

He was so well-liked that prosecutors decided that they couldn’t seat an unbiased jury in Carthage, so they moved the murder trial to San Augustine County.

His latest trial, set only to determine sentencing, has been moved to neighboring Rusk County. Jury selection began Friday, and testimony is expected to begin Wednesday. Sentencing options range from releasing Tiede with credit for time served to sending him back to state prison for life.

His lawyers argue that the jury needs to hear new evidence of how he was sexually abused as a child and how that abuse is linked to the abusive relationship he says he had with Nugent.

Even Panola County District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson, who prosecuted Tiede in the first trial, said his expert agrees that abuse earlier in life caused Tiede to snap.

Davidson believes that punishment should be limited to 20 years, or essentially the time that Tiede has already spent in prison.

Davidson has withdrawn from the case and handed it to the Texas attorney general’s office.

Hearings and court filings leading up to the showdown have delved into everything from trust funds and attorney-client privilege to secret videotapes of sex between Tiede and married men around town.

His lawyers contend that Tiede was threatened at the time of his arrest that the tapes would go public if he did not confess.

State District Judge Diane V. DeVasto sought to keep matters focused Thursday during a hearing.

“This is a trial on sentencing,” she said during a hearing. “What is the appropriate sentence for murder?”

She noted that nearly 700 people would show up at the civic center to begin the process of whittling down the jury pool.

DeVasto indicated that the basic questioning would be simple.

“Have you heard about the case, and have you seen the movie?” she said. “We won’t ask if they have an opinion, but if they can keep an open mind.”

Tourists still come to Carthage to follow what could be called the Bernie Trail. They take selfies outside the funeral parlor in the center of town. They gawk at the sprawling former Nugent home in Wildwood Estates. They grab lunch at Daddy Sam’s BBQ & Catfish on North Maple Street.

But artist Bob Harness, who sculpted the pioneering senator and other tributes here, said he does not envision a Bernie monument.

“Bernie is an icon, a black sheep of the family,” he said. “We try to do something more positive.”

Nugent is buried beneath a large headstone beside her husband at a cemetery on the edge of town. Tiede has been conditionally freed from prison pending trial and has been living in Austin, where he sings in a choir.

He takes nothing for granted, said Austin lawyer Jodi Callaway Cole, who has joined Houston lawyers Mike DeGeurin and Bryan Garris in representing Tiede.

“He has courage and faith,” she said. “He is holding up well and living one day at a time, not looking to the past or the future.”

Carthage residents, however, seem to have grown weary of Tiede and wary of attention.

Around town, from the candy shop and gun shop to a clothing store and the chamber of commerce, residents hesitated to share their thoughts.

“He used to give me the creeps,” confided a woman who asked not to be named. “A gut instinct inside me made my skin crawl.”

Still, she said she understood why so many people have supported him.

“It is hard not to love someone who is loving on you,” she said.

As barber Frank Miller snipped a customer’s hair, he said Tiede comes up in conversation with those sitting in his chair.

“What is wrong with a judicial system where a guy can admit to shooting a woman and walk away?” he said. “I actually had one (customer) defend him the other day. ... Nobody growled at him, but he raised some eyebrows.“

Jerry Hanszen, owner of classic country radio station KGAS, said opinions are mixed on Tiede. He might be welcomed by some if he again walks the streets of Carthage.